The unusual salad was one of the offerings at what organizers believe is the first U.S. market devoted to wild food and herbs, a kind of non-farmer's market that will be held monthly in the town near the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
A similar weekly market is scheduled to open next month in Asheville, making North Carolina the latest hot spot in the growing movement toward eating food foraged from forests and fields rather than cultivated on farms.
The trend has gained cachet among foodies, with dishes featuring everything from exotic mushrooms found deep in forests to humble dandelions that are the scourge of suburban lawns. Foraging tours have cropped up across the country and farm-to-table dinners are giving way to forage-to-table affairs.
Wild food expert "Wildman" Steve Brill, who leads tours in New York City's Central Park, created a foraging app with descriptions of local plants and recipes. The head chef at Copenhagen's Noma, named "the best restaurant in the world" three years running by Restaurant magazine, is known for foraging his ingredients.
"Europe has embraced foraging for a while, and I think it's really taking hold in this country now," said Josh Lev, co-founder of the Wild Food + Herb Market in Carrboro. "It fits in with this idea of getting back to basics."
WE'LL JUST PICK
Selling wild food raises questions about the value of paying for plants people could pick from their own yards. Lev said his market is aimed more at creating awareness of wild foods and herbs than making a profit from them.
"I'm trying to build a community of people who appreciate the plants that grow around them and what an important resource they are," said Lev, an herbalist, inventor and artist who recently moved to North Carolina from California. "We want to reconnect people to that kind of knowledge."
The outdoor market is set up like a farmer's market, with vendors signing up and selling their products.
Many vendors also hold classes and tours. The market's debut this month included a walk through the town commons to teach participants how to identify common edible plants.
The educational efforts help new foragers distinguish between edible plants and those that are less palatable or even poisonous. Picking mushrooms, in particular, requires expertise to avoid eating something harmful.
